Crane control operating mechanism



Feb. 20, 1962 J. E. MINTY ETAI. 3,021,962

CRANE CONTROL OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 7, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 nI I s .1 2 I 57 5; 29 fi fii jy 1' 5 Howard C Sfevens, J w M WM W Feb.20, 1962 J. E. MINTY ETAI.

CRANE CONTROL OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 7, 1958 N 2 Sheets-Sheet 2w *3 J m.

hazriars John E. M/nfy m 1?, Harvard 6. Sfevens, J

EH I

3,021,962 CRANE CONTROL OPERATING MECHANISM John E. Minty and Howard C.Stevens, In, Muskegon, MICIL, assignors to Manning, Maxwell 8: Moore,Ina, Muskegon, Mich, a corporation or New Jersey Filed Aug. 7, 1958,Ser. No. 753,776 7 Qiaims. (Cl. 212-18) The present invention relatesbroadly to materials handling, and is more particularly concerned with anew and improved mechanism for controlling operation of a crane at alocation remote therefrom.

It is an important aim of the present invention to provide a new andimproved structural arrangement permitting normal crane operation from adistant point without loss in the sensitivity of feel or exactness ofcontrol over the crane.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a controlmechanism constructed of a minimum number of reliable parts which may bereadily assembled and disassembled.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel combination ofparts which may be employed with ease in the control of bothelectrically and hydraulically operated cranes from a point removed fromthe crane bridge.

A further object of the present invention lies in the provision of acrane control mechanism featuring in part one or more pairs ofcontinuous ropes or the like trained over movable sheaves and connectingwith valve means controlling one or more of the motions of hoist,traverse and bridge whereby sheave movement initiated from a distantlocation is effective to actuate the valve means and perform the motionsnoted.

Other objects and advantages Will become more apparent during thecourse, of the following description, particularly when taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate likepartsv throughout the same:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view in schematic form showing a cranecontrol arrangement constructed in accordance with the principles ofthis invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the arrangement of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view with parts in section taken through a portion of thecontrol mechanism and illustrating the arrangement of sheaves andcontrol member therein;

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along theline IV-IV of FIGURE 3, and showing one manner of mounting the movablesheaves;

FIGURE 5 is an elevational View in schematic form illustrating a remotecontrol arrangement embodying the mechanism of FIGURES 2 and 3 to effectone or more .of the normal motions of hoist, traverse and bridge; and

FIGURE 6 is a detail view of a control cable and panel arrangement foroperating the structure illustrated in FIGURE 5.

The novel construction of this invention is particularly well suited tothe control of an overhead crane from a location therebeneath and willbe described in that connection herein. However, various otherapplications embodying the novel concepts disclosed will become apparentduring the course of the description now to follow.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 1 and2, there is shown a cranesupporting structure of conventional construction with which the presentinvention is of proven utility. A runway 10 secured in any suitablemanner to supporting structure provides by I beams or the like 11a atraveling surface for wheels 11 mounting a bridge 12 for longitudinalmovement therealong to the extent 3,21,92 Patented Feb. 20, 1962 of thelength of said runway. Supported upon wheels 13 for transverse travelupon the bridge 12 is a trolley 14 from which depends a cable or ropemeans 15 carrying at one end a crane hook 16, the rope means beingtrained over pulleys 15a.

Provided at opposite ends of the bridge 12 is a pair of supportingmembers 17 and i8, mounting respectively a rotary pulley I9 and anon-rotatable pulley 20 over which is trained a continuous cable, cordor the like 21. The rope or cable means 21 thereby consists of an upperrun or section 22 and a lower run or section 23. each of which passesthrough a control mechanism generally designated by the numeral 24supported upon the trolle 14.

It is known in the art that normal crane operation requires at least thetwo motions designated generally as hoist and bridge. Hoist movementrefers to a raising or lowering of the crane hook in with or without aload thereon, while bridge movement connotes longitudinal travel of thebridge 12 upon the runway 10 in order to position the crane hook 16 inproximity to a load or to move said load from one location to anotherwithin the limits of the length of the runway 10. However, many moderncrane constructions are characterized by provision of a third motiondesignated as traverse, and referring to travel of the trolley 14transversely along the bridge 12 in a direction perpendicular to thelength of the runway 10. I

The present invention features control of all three motions of bridge,hoist and traverse and is illustrated in that connection herein.Accordingly, three pairs of pulley means 19 and 2d, and rope Or cablemeans 21a, 21b and 21c are shown. Further, the illustrative embodimentincludes three control mechanisms 24a, 24b and 240; however preferredmanufacturing practice may dictate that the three control mechanisms becombined into a single unit through which the three cable means aretrained. For ease of understanding, however, the control mechanisms 24are shown as separate units, and since the construction of each isessentially identical, the structural features of only one of said unitswill now be described.

Referring now also to FIGURES 3 and 4, the control mechanism 24comprises a housing 25 which may be in the form of an aluminum sandcasting of two sections bolted together or otherwise secured one to theother at locations designated at 26. Mounted in the four corners of thehousing 25 upon shafts 27 journaled in suitable bearings (not shown) aresheaves 28a, 28b, 28c and 28d. Opposite ends of the housing 25 are boredgenerally centrally at 29 and within the opening thus provided islocated a bushing 30 preferably of the oilite type within which isaxially movable a tubular control rod or member 31.

As appears more clearly in FIGURE 4, the control tube 31 is slotted atspaced locations 32 along its length to receive a pair of axially orvertically movable sheaves 33 and 34. One manner of mounting the sheaves33 and 34 upon the tubular control rod 31 comprises a stud shaft 35mounting washer means 36 on opposite surfaces of the sheaves 33 and 34and receiving roll pins or the like 37 to efiect a firm assembly. Theopposite end of the control rod 31 depends downwardly from the trolley14 and is of a length suiiicient to permit its manipulation by anoperator located upon the floor beneath the trolley. Three control rods31 would normally be required to effect the hoist, traverse and bridgemotions; however, if the control mechanism 24 is embodied in a compositeor single unit, the three individual rods 31 may be received at theirlower ends in a mounting panel or the like to facilitate their separateoperations.

The upper and lower runs 22 and 23 of the cable or cord 21 pass throughopenings 38 and 39, respectively, provided in the housing 25. it may benoted that the upper run orpart 22 of the cable 21 is reeved overthesheaves 28a and 28b and under the movable sheave 34, while the lower runor section 23 of the continuous cable 21 is reeved under the sheaves 28cand 28d and over the axially or vertically movable sheave 33. it mayfurther be noted that a tensioning force is applied to the cable 21 byprovision of spring means 4% connecting between the pulley 2t) andmounting bracket 18 supported at one end of thebridge 12. An additionalbenefit derived from this arrangement is that the control rod or member31 'means 42a, 42b and 420 supported by the bridge 12 and controlling,respectively, the motions of hoist, traverse and bridge. Hydraulic orelectrical connections of known construction are of course provided tothe conventional cable mechanism, trolley mechanism, and bridgemechanism, respectively.

Since the operation of each of thecontrol mechanisms 24a-c isessentially identical, the action of only a single mechanism incontrolling one of the motions of hoist, traverse or bridge will bedescribed. Assuming an operator located on the door beneath the trolley14 wishes to raise the crane hook 16, he thereupon moves the hoistcontrol rod 31a upwardly which moves the sheaves 33 and 34 acorresponding distance. Control rod movement in an upward directionreleases tension or produces a slack in the upper cable run 22 passingunder the movable sheave 34, and Simultaneously said slack is taken upby the lower movable sheave 33, drawing the lower run '23 of the cable21 in a direction to the right as viewed in FIGURE 1. The valve lever41a connecting with the cable lower run 23 and valve means 42:: is movedfrom an upright or neutral position clockwise or to the right toinitiate the cable raising action. Downward movement of the control rod31:: after the operation described returns the valve operating lever 41ato a neutral position, and upon further downward travel of said controlrod 31a, the valve lover or handle is rotated counter-clockwise to lowerthe crane hook 36. Similar movement of the traverse and bridge controlrods 31b and 31c cause corresponding actions of the valve means 42b and420 to initiate transverse travel of the trolley 14 or longitudinaltravel of the bridge 12, as the case may be. It may now be seen that thecontrol mechanism 24 and parts associated therewith are of relativelysimple but extremely reliable construction, thereby providing anarrangement of parts having long and eiiective life under strenuousoperof about 500 pounds is generally sufiicient.

It may at times be desired to control one or more of the motions ofhoist, traverse and bridge from a location even more remote than anoperators position beneath the crane trolley. A structural embodiment ofthe invention featuring remote control of the noted motions is shown Ain FIGURES and 6, and reference is now made thereto.

As constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention, thestructural arrangement shown therein comprises a conventional runway 43extending longitudinally of the area being served, the runway supportinga movable bridge 44 provided with wheels 45 and mounting for transversetravel upon wheels 46 a trolley 47. A

crane'hook 48 is supported from the trolley 47 by cable or rope means 49to effect the customary load lifting and lowering.

The structural features of the control mechanism 24 as earlier describedremain the same in the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURES 5and 6; however, the control mechanism in this form of the invention issupported by the bridge 44 in any suitable manner. The slotted controlrod 31 of the mechanism 24 connects with a valve operating handle 59 ona four-way valve 51 also supported upon the bridge 44 and connectingwith known mechanisms effective to perform the motions of hoist,traverse and bridge. As described previously, the control mechanism 24may comprise three separable units, or may be housed in unitarystructure. The cable, cord or rope 2.1 is reeved about the sheaves 28,33 and 34 of the control mechanism 24 in the manner previously noted,and in the embodiment of FIGURES 5 and 6 the cord means 21 is trainedaround a rotary pulley S2 and a non-rotatable pulley 53 attached tostructure, which may be a wall of a building housing the apparatusshown.

means 54 connecting with the pulley 53 and supporting structuremaintains tension on the cord or rope 21 as earlier noted.

The lower run 23 of each of the rope means 21a-c is connected at 55 withplunger means 56 movable within a slotted tube or the like 57 mounted onsupporting structure, which again may be a wall at one end of the runway43. The opposite end of the plunger 56 connects with cable means 58,preferably of the Controlex type, which in the arrangement shown isrouted along one wall of the building, across the door thereof and isreceived in another sloited tube 59 which may be mounted in the mannershown in a distant control room. Connecting with each of the plungers 55and received within the slotted portion 69 of each of the tubularmembers 59 is a control lever 61 pivoted at 62 at one end upon a standor other structure 63 supported by the floor or in any other suitablemanner.

Each of the control levers 61 for the motions of hoist, traverse andbridge are preferably pivotally movable through an arc of approximately3" upwardly or downwardly to effect a corresponding amount of travel ofthe lower run 23 at the connection 55 with the opposite end of theplunger 56. Accordingly, movement of one of the control levers 61 in adownwardly direction causes the lower run 23 of the rope means 21 tomove to the right as viewed in FIGURE 5, thereby slackening the lowerrun 23 reeved about the sheaves 28c, 33 and 28d. The slack produced istaken up by the upper rope run 22 to raise the movable sheave 34, andcontrol rod connected therewith approximately l /z", and thereby raisingthe connecting valve operating handle 50 and opening the valve 51 to afull speed position. Depending upon the particular valve controlled,either the crane hook 48, trolley 47, or bridge 44 will be operated atmaximum speed, as-

suming the control lever 61 is moved to the maximum of its downwardvertical pivotal movement. A movement of the handle or the lever 61 lessthan the 3" travel permitted in the exemplary embodiment shown willproduce a lesser speed in that motion. Accordingly, the infinitevariable speed characteristic of the crane is maintained and under fullcontrol of the operator of the lever 61, regardless of the position inwhich the bridge 44 may be on the runway 43 at a particular moment.

The connection between the valves 51 and mechanisms known to the art foraccomplishing motions of hoist, traverse and bridge may be made insuitable manner, and with regard to the slotted tube 31 axially movablewithin the control mechanism 24 of FIGURES 5 and 6, the only essentialchange therein over the corresponding member from FIGURES 1 and 2 is thedecrease in length thereof. For accomplishment of the purposes of thearrangement of FIGURES 5 and 6 the control mechanism may be increased insize to accommodate 3" sheaves over which are reeved A flexible rope orcord 21. As thus constructed, the sheaves 28, 33 and 34 have been foundto revolve at a speed of approximately 250 rpm. at a bridge speed ofapproximately 200 ft. per minute. It will of course be appreciated thatthe diameter of the sheaves may be reduced; however a correspondingincrease in rotative speed of the sheaves would result, and underparticular circumstances, a speed increase may be found not entirelydesirable.

The present invention has been described particularly in connection withcontrol and operation of a hydraulic type crane, however, equal utilityexists therefor in connection with electric type cranes. Thus, avariable speed drum controller may be mounted upon the crane bridge 12or 44 and motions of hoist, traverse and bridge controlled in a similarmanner. The control mechanism as herein disclosed is believed to havesubstantial advantages, particularly by way of the degree of control,over an arrangement employing solenoid valves to operate the threemotions of the crane. As is known, a solenoid valve generally has only acompletely open or completely closed position, and accordingly, the finedegree of control obtained by hydraulic cranes would be sacrificed to alarge measure.

It may be seen from the foregoing that applicants have provided a novelcrane control operating mechanism embodying features of equallysuccessful application to both hydraulically and electrically operatedcranes. No sacrifice is found in the sensitivity of feel or theexactness of control over the crane, and constructfon of the mechanismherein disclosed requires only a minimum number of parts and each ofthese features reliability in every detail. The entire structure may bereadily assembled and disassembled, and it may now be seen that thecontrol mechanism is characterized by utilization of upper and lowerrope runs permitting operation of a device such as a valve handle inboth directions from a central or neutral position.

With further reference to the control mechanism, actual practice hasdemonstrated that as the upper and lower runs 22 and 23 of the rope 21pass over the movable sheaves 33 and 34, the sections of this loopedportion should be parallel to one another and to the vertical axis ofthe control mechanism 24. The advantage of this is that the mechanismdevelops an identical amount of slack and take-up. As shown in FIGURE 3,a parallel relation between the rope sections may readily beaccomplished by increasing the diameters of the sheaves 33 and 34, or bymoving the centers thereof inwardly.

Various modifications and changes may be made to the structures hereindisclosed without departing from the novel concepts of the invention.

We claim as our invention:

1. A control mechanism for effecting one or more crane motlons of hoist,traverse and bridge, comprising a hsusing, a plurality of rotatable andaxially immovable sheave mrmbers mounted within said housing, aplurality of rotatable and axially movable sheave members supportedwlthin the housing for simultaneous movement in the same directionbetween and away from the axially immovable sheave members, controlmeans mounting the last-named sheave members for axial movement, andcable means comprising a pair of vertically spaced cable runs extendingoutwardly from each of the opposite ends of the housing receivable uponthe axially immovable and axially movable sheave members and uponeffective slackening and tightening thereof and upon movement of thecontrol means to effect one or more motions of hoist, traverse andbridge, one only of said axially movable sheave members being positionedbetween a pair of axially immovable sheave members during maximumslackening of the cable run received thereon.

2. In crane operating apparatus which includes mechanisms for performingone or more motions of hoist, traverse and bridge, the improvement whichcomprises a generally vertically stationary housing, a plurality ofrotatable and axially immovable sheave members mount ed within saidhousing, a plurality of rotatable and axially movable sheave memberssupported within the housing for simultaneous movement in the samedirection between and away from the axially immovable sheave members,control means mounting the last-named sheave members for axial movement,and cable means connecting with the mechanisms for performing one ormore motions of hoist, traverse and bridge and comprising a pair ofvertically spaced cable runs extending outwardly from each of theopposite ends of the housing receivable upon each of the sheave membersand effective upon slackening or tightening thereof to initiateoperation of the mechanism connected thereto to effect hoist, traverseor bridge movements, one only of said axially movable sheave membersbeing positioned between a pair of axially immovable sheave membersduring maximum slackening of the, cable run received thereon.

3. In crane operating apparatus which includes mechanisms for performingone or more motions of hoist, traverse and bridge, the improvement whichcomprises a control device including a housing and a plurality ofstationary "sheave members mounted for rotation in each of the oppositecorners thereof and a pair of vertically aligned and vertically movablerotatable sheave members supported for simultaneous movement in the samedirection, cable means comprising vertically spaced upper and lower runsreceived in the stationary and movable sheave members and extendingoutwardly from each of the opposite ends of the housing, one of saidruns connecting with one of said mechanisms, and means for slackeningone of the runs and simultaneously tightening the other of said runs toactuate one of the mechanisms and initiate one of the motions of hoist,traverse and bridge, one only of said movable sheave members beingpositioned between a pair of stationary sheave members during maximumslackening of the cable run received thereon.

4. In crane operating apparatus which includes mechanisms for performingone or more motions of hoist, traverse and bridge, the improvement whichcomprises a control device including a housing and a plurality ofstationary sheave members mounted for rotation in each of the oppositecorners thereof and a plurality of vertically movable rotatable sheavemembers supported for simultaneous movement in the same direction, cablemeans comprising vertically spaced upper and lower runs received in thestationary and movable sheave members and extending outwardly from eachof the opposite ends of the housing, one of said runs connecting withone of said mechanisms, and a control rod connecting with each of themovable sheave members and having a portion thereof received in thecontrol device housing for movement therewithin, said control rod beingmovable in opposite directions to simultaneously move the movable sheavemembers in the same direction to slacken one of the cable runs andsimultaneously tighten the other of said runs to actuate one of themechanisms and initiate one of the motions of hoist, traverse andbridge, one only of said movable sheave members being positioned betweena pair of stationary sheave members during maximum slackening of thecable run received thereon.

5. In crane operating apparatus which includes mechanisms for performingone or more motions of hoist, traverse and bridge, the improvement whichcomprises a control device including a vertically stationary housing anda plurality of stationary sheave members mounted for rotation inopposite corners thereof and a plurality of vertically aligned andvertically movable rotatable sheave members supported for simultaneousmovement in the same direction, cable means comprising vertically spacedupper and lower runs received in the stationary and movable sheavemembers and extending outwardly from each of the opposite ends of thehousing, valve means connecting with one of the runs and with one of themechanisms, and a control rod supporting the movable sheave members forsimultaneous movement in opposite vertical directions to slacken one ofthe cable runs and simultaneously tighten the other of said runs andactuate the valve means connected thereto to initiate one of the motionsof hoist, traverse and bridge, one only of said movable sheave membersbeing positioned between a pair of stationary sheave members duringmaximum slackening of the cable run received thereon.

6. In crane operating apparatus which includes a traveling bridge andhoist and mechanisms for moving the same, the improvement whichcomprises acontrol device associated with said bridge and comprising agenerally vertically stationary housing and a plurality of axiallyimmovable sheave members and a plurality of axially movable sheavemembers located therein, a con trol member carrying said axially movablesheave members for rotation thereon and simultaneous vertical movementtherewith in the same direction under control of an operator between andaway from the axially immovable sheave members, pulley means supportedon the bridge and a main cable trained thereover extending outwardlyfrom each of the opposite ends of the housing and having an upper runreeved under one of the axially movable sheave members and over a pairof axially immovable sheave members and a lower run reeved over anotherof the axially movable sheave members and under a pair of axiallyimmovable sheave members, and valve means connecting with the bridge andhoist and having a lever connecting with one of the cable runs so thatupon movement of the control member in one direction by the operator theaxially movable sheave members are simultaneously moved in the samedirection and a cable run tensioned to actuate the valve means connectedthereto and cause motion of the bridge or hoist, one only of saidaxially movable sheave members being positioned between a pair ofaxially immovable sheave members during maximum slackening of the cablerun received thereon.

7. In crane operating apparatus which includes a traveling bridge andhoist and mechanisms for moving the same, the improvement whichcomprises a control device comprising a generally vertically stationaryhousing carried by the bridge and a plurality of axially movablerotatable sheave members and a plurality of axially immovable sheavemembers located within said housing, a control member supporting saidaxially movable sheave members for simultaneous vertical movement in thesame direction, pulley means and a main cable trained thereover andhaving an upper run reeved under one of the axially movable sheavemembers and over a pair of axially immovable sheave members and a lowerrun reeved over another of the axially movable sheave members and undera pair of axially immovable sheave members, valve meansconnecting withthe bridge and hoist and having a lever attached to the control member,and a control cable connecting with the main cable and movable from aremote point to cause travel of the main cable linearly and a tensioningof one of the runs thereof moving the control member and axially movablesheave members in the same directions simultaneously and moving thevalve lever connected thereto cause motion of the bridge or'hoist, oneonly of said axially movable sheave members being positioned between apair of axially irnmovable sheave members during maximum slackening ofthe cable run received thereon.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 443,155

